Thursday, June 2, 2011

Feeling nervous and only "a little bit brave"

Today the kids got to experience NERVOUS first hand. When the kids came in from playing outside, we all gathered on the green rug for a meeting. In a whispering voice I presented the jar in the picture below.

The Spider Jar

I told the kids that I had found a really big spider on the playground and caught it in this jar. I told them we couldn't look at it, but they could reach in a touch it. Instantly a few kids jumped up for their turn. I asked everyone to sit back down, so we could take turns. I told them the spider was sleeping, but if they woke it up, than it might bite. The enthusiastic kids looked a little more hesitant at that point.

One by one the kids were called up for their turns. Most of the kids would reach about half way into the napkin covered jar and yank their hands back out before they had reached the "spider." "What's wrong?" I would ask, "are you feeling a little NERVOUS?" They would sit back down and I would call another child up. A couple children would reach right in without hesitation and I would recognize how BRAVE they were being. One little boy decided he was only "a little bit brave." He kept volunteering but wouldn't get his hand all the way in.

After many attempts and lots of emphasis on NERVOUS (some said scared) and BRAVE, I decided to reveal my secret. Of course once they saw the plastic lobster that was in the jar and found out I was tricking them, suddenly they were all BRAVE enough to reach in and see what it felt like.